Oops!!!
16 December 2007 | Off the coast/Mexican Riviera
Gabriellas grandpa
I left La Cruz about 11am for a nice casual overnite sail to Chamela...about 85 miles away. It started out wonderful and the sailing was great in an area where it should have been boisterous. When I started to get past Cabo Corientes and where the weather and seas should be fine it was the opposite. Winds got to 25knots and the seas were quite big. It was in the middle of the night and no moon so it was pitch black and no visibility and I was surfing down waves at 11 and 12 knots. I had a preventer tied off to my starboard ama to keep the sail or boat from jibing. Well, the wind shifted to back of the sail and normally I would turn the boat in a circle to catch the wind on the port side of the sail to correct the situation...In the darkness and those seas I was not about to turn and possibly flip the boat, so I turned on the engine to help power turn to correct out. Before that could happen my preventer(tied to the cleat on the starboard ams) ripped out my DECK cleat, stanchions and all. Also on that night I was pooped. Pooped means a wave broke on the boat and swamped my cocpit area....that has never happened to me. Needless to say I did'nt leave the cockpit all night long. Now I have some fiberglassing to do in Barra De Navidad. Mucho more to come.